It’s that time of year! Breast cancer awareness month. An average woman has a 1 in 8 chance of getting breast cancer in her lifetime or about 13%. Let’s talk a little bit about when breast cancer screening should take place for a woman of average risk:

According to the American Cancer Society, women of average risk should have the option to screen via mammogram on an annual basis between ages 40 and 44. Women between 45 and 54 should get annual mammograms. And for women 55 and older, they can continue with annual mammograms or switch to every other year. Again, this is for those of average breast cancer risk! (We’ll talk more about high risk in another post).

What makes someone an average breast cancer risk?

1. No personal history of breast cancer.
2. No strong family history of breast cancer.
3. No gene mutations known to increase breast cancer risk.
4. No history of chest radiation prior to age 30.

Take the American Cancer Society’s Cancer Risk Assessment at the link below. (It isn’t just for breast cancer!)

https://acscancerrisk360.cancer.org

Here’s some more links that are helpful:

The National Breast Cancer Foundation:

https://www.nationalbreastcancer.org

The American Cancer Society’s Website:

https://www.cancer.org/cancer/types/breast-cancer/screening-tests-and-early-detection/american-cancer-society-recommendations-for-the-early-detection-of-breast-cancer.html

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